


The Things We Do For Love

by writinginthedust



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-26 04:48:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14993147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writinginthedust/pseuds/writinginthedust
Summary: This was done as an Everlark Birthday Gift for ginarbk based on the prompt 'arranged marriage.'Some mild swearing but that is all!





	The Things We Do For Love

Prim’s head gently bobbed against its resting place of Katniss’s shoulder and Katniss marvelled at how her little sister managed to successfully sleep through the grind of the train and the pounding of the rain on the window. 

It had been three full days of travel and they were almost at its end. For that reason alone, Katniss’ stomach churned and she envied Prim her sleep. There was no way she would be able to doze off now, not when they were so close. 

The train carriage swayed and Prim smacked her lips together, shuffling in closer, her nose burying itself into Katniss’ dress. Katniss turned and planted a soft kiss on the top of Prim’s blonde head. “The things,” she murmured aloud, “that we do for love.”

The carriage was a private first class one, booked and paid for by P. Mellark. The driver had picked them up from their hotel, in a limo no less, and transported them to the station where there had been a note and some champagne to welcome them. Prim had checked the bottle label and declared that, ‘he was doing it right,’ and proceeded to quaff the stuff like it was water. 

Katniss left the note on the side and refused to look at it. Three days later it remained unopened. The root of the issue, Katniss decided, was that her and Prim had been woefully unprepared for adult life. Daddy had always been so proud of the work and the money but was proudest that it meant he could provide for ‘his girls.’

Katniss knew that, once upon a time, her parents had been poor but Katniss and Prim had never known a life that didn’t involve holidays and horses and the elitist Capitol Country Club. Even when Prim had gone to college it was to doss around for a few years. She graduated with a bogus Panem Studies degree and an ugly cat tattoo. 

It had all gone to shit quickly after. 

One car accident and both parents were gone. The money was gone too. Katniss could barely cope with the first blow when she was told about the second. A bad investment and a dodgy accountant called Seneca that no one could find was the cause. 

Their parents had left them, unwillingly and unexpectedly, and they had left them with no money and no life skills to fall back on. Prim resolutely announced that she would begin a career in hospitality which lasted a hot minute until Katniss reminded her that one afternoon serving drinks at the country club for ‘fun’ did not make for experience. Her sister was spoilt but at least her heart matched her golden little head. 

Katniss watched as the rain ran down the window and she pushed her palm flat against the cold glass. As they journeyed the cities got further apart. The metropolis of the Capitol faded into District Two than Four than Seven. 

It had been exciting at first, the trips to the first-class dining cart and then to the observation deck. Everything they wanted to eat and drink was on P. Mellark’s account and Prim hadn’t stopped for breath, exhilarated to finally be back in familiar territory. 

Katniss managed a sandwich and it tasted like dirt. The trip had given her too much time to think. Whilst Prim brimmed with excitement born from the lies Katniss fed her, Katniss had spent her days and nights ruminating. This could possibly be the stupidest thing she had ever agreed to do. 

****

“So, what are you going to say when you finally see him?”

Katniss shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“What do you think he’ll say to you?” Prim practically bounced on her chair, her deck of cards clutched in her hand. 

“Probably, ‘how was your journey?’”

“Katniss!” Prim squealed and gently hit her with her deck. “I wonder if he’ll make sweeping love declarations, or maybe he’ll kiss you breathless against the backdrops of the mountains, or maybe he’ll...”

As her little sister spoke, fanciful and borderline disturbing romantic fantasies tumbling from her mouth, Katniss tuned her out. The one truth she had told Prim was that her and P. Mellark, Peeta, as she should call him, had never met. This meant that Prim thought there was going to be a dramatic and passionate display of love between two lucky and lonely souls who had found each other via the wonder of online dating. 

The truth was significantly less starry-eyed. 

They had been in the shit. Katniss knew it, Prim didn’t. The small amount of funds left was rapidly disappearing. They sold the house and the car. 

It was going to be fine, Katniss had thought. They would pay off the mountain of debt that had been slowly accumulating, get jobs and rent an apartment, maybe in One if they couldn’t afford the Capitol. 

The fly in the ointment, and what a fly, was that neither Katniss nor Prim were remotely employable. As the months went on, Katniss’ panic increased. What finally tipped her over the precipice she had been dangling on was the invitation to lunch at Snow’s.   
She had sat opposite him, politely declined a third champagne, and tried to look interested as he spoke. “I miss you at the Club,” he had told her, “you and your delightful sister. I’m sorry about what happened to your parents.”

Katniss had demurely thanked him. 

“I just wanted to see if you needed anything. You and Primrose. Especially as Primrose is fresh out of college and probably wants to gain a foothold in this world.” Snow had placed his hand on top of Katniss’ in a comforting gesture and her stomach lurched. “She’s such a delight, your sister. Don’t you think? So sweet. Of course,” and he leant towards her then, his breath stinking of wine, “you are a delight, in your own, rather feisty way.”

There had been rumours about Snow and his damned mansion. Late night parties, showbiz events, out of country trips to exotic places. He only had young men and women working for him, attractive young men and women, but at the events the guests were older, wealthy.... more powerful. 

Katniss held her civility and let him plant a wet kiss on her cheek at the end of the meal. She was spoilt, just like Prim, but was wiser to the world. Katniss knew exploitation while Prim was naïve. She would have thought Snow genuinely held concern for them, would have thought that his invitations to live in his mansion with the others would have been a fun sorority setting. Prim wouldn’t have realised that accepting his invitation would have also been accepting an old man and his friends to... she didn’t want to think about it. 

She had done what she needed to do and it was the better alternative. 

“Katniss?” Prim’s voice broke through her reverie. “Are you ok?” 

Katniss looked up and met her sisters worried glance. “I’m fine little duck. I’m just a little... nervous.”

“You don’t need to be. Not if he’s anything like you say he is!” Prim beamed at her, hope flooding from her face. Katniss turned the corners of her mouth up. It wasn’t quite a smile, but it was all she could manage.

****

Twelve was beautiful. When the train rolled into the District, Katniss and Prim stuck to the observation deck, watching as the smoky hills and green peaks came into view. It was a far cry from the city with its almost oppressive, gleaming whiteness. Prim was like a small child, pressing her palms against the glass, watching with delight as the rain streamed down the pane. 

“Isn’t it lovely?” Prim murmured. “Something about it feels like coming home.”

Katniss knew what she meant. They’d never come as far as Twelve before, the jokes in the Capitol was that it was a District for country bumpkins and so it had never appealed. But now... now there was something stirring in her blood, her stomach replaced nerves with excitement. Regardless of how it went with Peeta, she felt she could at least claim the trees. 

The rain showed no signs of stopping and so, when the train arrived at the station, they ended up stepping into giant puddles on the platform, mud and water splashing onto their legs. Katniss rose an eyebrow. Maybe the dresses had been a bad idea, but it was Effie’s suggestion. ‘Arrive presentable,’ she had been told. 

Prim tugged on her elbow. “Is that him?” She pointed off to the side. “We’re the only people here, that must be him?” Prim looked at Katniss with expectant eyes. 

A man walked towards them, not caring about stepping in the puddles, the bottoms of his jeans getting soaked through. Katniss let out a nervous laugh. The picture she had seen at Effie’s was formal, a headshot taken by a professional for the purposes of his profile. Katniss had found him attractive, with his ashy blonde hair combed back and his face relaxed into a closed mouth smile. 

Now though? She was surprised. Somehow, with the formality stripped off him, he was more attractive. The ashy blonde hair was rumpled into waves and his smile was a wide, open mouthed grin. His pace picked up and he was in front of them in seconds. 

He looked so happy. Was he possibly happy to see her? He knew little to nothing about her aside from what was in her profile and what Effie would have told him. “Katniss,” he said. Not a question but a statement, like he simply wanted to say her name. 

There was a squeal from Katniss’ side and the next thing she knew Prim had launched herself into Peeta’s arms for a hug. His plaid shirt was rolled up to his elbows and Katniss watched as his arms, his huge arms, wrapped around her little sister’s waist. “And you must be Prim,” he said, with no sign of that smile dimming. 

“I’m so pleased to meet you!” Prim gushed. “You know I’ve always wanted a brother.” 

Peeta released her from his grip. “Well lucky for me, I’ve always wanted a sister.”

He turned to Katniss then and she wondered if she should throw herself at him as well. After all, she was his fiancée and they were supposed to be brimming over with love. “Hi Peeta,” was all she could say. Her nerves made her tongue stick to the roof of her mouth. It didn’t seem to matter though as he stepped forward and gave her a hug of her own. 

“I’m so glad to finally meet you,” he whispered into her ear, his arms gently resting on her waist and the warmth of his chest pressing against hers. When he pulled away, the air around her felt chillier somehow. “Let me take you home.”

****

With no prospects and with Snow swimming around them like a shark, Katniss made some decisive actions. It was desperate and it was insane but it was the only thing she could think of. 

Effie Trinket was reputable and made Katniss aware of that fact. “This is not,” she had told her, “a seedy business. This is not some ‘mail order bride’ arrangement. And this most certainly is not a place where anyone can take advantage of anyone else. Do you understand?”

Katniss wondered what impression she had given Effie. She wasn’t quite sure whether Effie was trying to reassure her or put her in her place. She’d nodded and fidgeted in her seat, her fingers playing with the pearl buttons on her blouse cuffs. 

“Nothing is contractual,” Effie had explained, much softer once she saw Katniss’ nerves. “Like I said, this isn’t a business arrangement. If one party changes their minds or feels uncomfortable then they can stop the process immediately. My goal is love.” Her expertly manicured fingers swept over the photos on the wall beside her. Happy, smiling couples beamed down at Katniss, their faces squished so tightly together. 

“I understand more than most the things people do for love.” Effie looked misty eyed at a photo on her desk. “I want to find love matches, I want to build foundations on which couples can grow,” she paused then smiled at Katniss. “Did you know that a total of thirty babies have been born to my couples since I opened this agency?”

“Ba- babies?” 

“Oh yes,” Effie had nodded earnestly. “This is an agency for arranged marriages, Miss Everdeen, the key word here is marriage. And all that may involve.” Building foundations, as it turned out, was a business Effie took extremely seriously. 

Effie left no stone unturned, not until she felt she had found the perfect match for Katniss. It turned out that some of Katniss’ profile answers had been questionable... and the matter of the profile photo where she was more scowl then smile hadn’t helped matters either. Then one day, she had simply announced, “I’ve found him,” and left Katniss with a folder to read. 

Yes. He had been found. Eight weeks after their arrival in Twelve and Prim, a non-negotiable condition in this arrangement, was thriving. Katniss sat on the bar stool at the island in the kitchen and watched as Peeta showed Prim how to knead bread.

“That is definitely too much knuckle. You want to whack on your dusters? Maybe really show the dough who’s boss?”

Prim had fallen in love with her new life. Twelve suited her, the farm suited her and even working in one of Peeta’s bakeries on a Saturday suited her. Prim had purpose, she had hope and she had a new brother. 

What Katniss had ultimately wanted was her and Prim protected from poverty, starvation and Snow and that is exactly what she had managed to achieve. So why did she feel like she was waiting for a piece of a puzzle to fall into place? Why did she feel that she was the one deliberately withholding that piece?

Maybe part of her was holding back because of the fear that Prim would find out the truth. That her and Peeta weren’t long distance lovers, marrying on a crazy romantic impulse after a whirlwind romance. Maybe she was unsure because she didn’t understand how someone like Peeta, so kind, funny and patient, would resort to an arranged marriage. His profile had given some information, but it wasn’t enough. 

Maybe, and this was quite likely the root of her issue, she was holding back because she didn’t fully understand why he had agreed to get married to her.

Katniss silently left the kitchen, leaving Peeta to explain to Prim the downside of over-kneading, and crept upstairs to her room. Peeta had arranged it so that she had her own space, wanting to make sure she was more comfortable with him before they fell into their married ‘arrangements.’ They passed it off to Prim as nothing more than a traditional district custom. If Prim had thought anything unusual of it, she hadn’t said. 

The bed creaked with her weight as she lay down. Peeta had apologised for the old mattress but Katniss, without thinking, had commented that she wouldn’t be sleeping on that bed for much longer anyway. With silence from Peeta she had looked at him and was surprised to see a red flush bloom up from his neck, to his cheeks and right up to the tip of his ears. 

Katniss turned to face the wall. It was just furniture. They were going to be married and so sharing a bed was what married couples did. Except it wasn’t just a bed. It was what it meant, what it represented. ‘Marriage,’ Effie had said. ‘And all that it entails.’ 

Sex. That was what it meant. And eventual babies. Effie had mentioned them too. Peeta’s profile had stated that he wanted children, that one of the things he wanted from life was to have his own family. Again, Katniss didn’t get it. How was he in this situation? 

She thought of his arms, an image that often crept unbidden into her mind these days and she thought of his smell, something like cinnamon and man. When her mind carried her down that route she decided to just throw all self-control out the window and invited the thoughts in. She reflected on the warmth of his skin, the softness of his hair and the blue of his eyes. Ridiculous. It was all ridiculous. 

Eight weeks of knowing him and Katniss had ended up with a crush on the man she was going to marry. 

****

“Bless you!” 

Katniss smiled at Peeta with watery eyes as he placed a hot mug of tea and a plate of buns on the coffee table in front of her. She held a tissue to her red tipped nose and fought off the urge to sneeze again. “I’m so sorry,” she told him. “I’m just sitting here being all disgusting.” 

Katniss reached out for the mug and eyed the plate which contained the cheese buns. They smelt great, well she guessed they did. The cold that had been clinging on for the past few days had chased off her sense of smell and appetite. It was almost tragic, missing out on Peeta’s baking. 

Before she could grab the mug, Peeta had already scooped it from the table and handed it to her. “It’s hot, I would wait a bit to let it cool.”

“Thank you,” she said, and clutched it in her hands. 

He perched on the arm of the couch. “And you don’t need to apologise, you can sit there and feel and look as disgusting as you need to be.”

She laughed and then coughed, “Thanks!” 

Peeta frowned at her then, his eyes tracing over her face. “Are you sure you don’t want a doctor?” 

Katniss shook her head, “Absolutely no need, it’s just a cold.”

He’d already bought up getting a doctor to visit a few days ago but Katniss pushed the idea away. She didn’t want to waste anyone’s time and besides it wasn’t anything that rest, fluids and a bunch of mentholated products couldn’t fix. 

“Well,” he said, “I guess it is supposed to be ‘in sickness and in health.’” He had said it so quietly she almost didn’t hear but he gave a nervous little laugh and looked away. 

It had been four months since she and Prim had moved to Twelve. Whatever it was, whatever that thing was that she had been waiting for, she had felt it slowly clicking into place. Whether she was ready to give the fledging emotion a name, she wasn’t sure. Katniss knew it wasn’t love, not yet, but it was the yet that had given her pause. It was now a certainty in her mind that love was on its way. 

He would make little comments all the time; compliments on how beautiful she looked, how certain clothes suited her, how being in their home suited her. In those moments, it was as though he was overcome with feelings of his own, that he couldn’t not say these things to her or he would burst. 

Katniss on the other hand had never been good at words. Instead, she found herself giving him kisses on the cheek in the morning or slipping her arm through his when they went on walks or fussing about him to make sure he was bundled up against the weather before he went to work. They seemed to be falling into domesticated bliss and if Katniss felt that theirs wasn’t such an unusual introduction, there would be nothing out of the ordinary about them living as a couple. 

Maybe it was because she was ill, or bored, or both but her mind hadn’t stopped whirring for days. Not since she came down with a cold. His concern seemed to stem from deeper than her comfort and when he mentioned the doctor for such a trivial thing she began to wonder. 

There was a trigger for a memory and so she dug out his profile again, the one Effie had sent her all those months ago. She’d read it thoroughly but at the time her mind was still whirling on everything that had happened to her and information hadn’t been stored in her brain correctly. 

She’d either missed it or forgotten it, she thought with shame. How could she have? It was such vital, monumental information. But there in his profile was the answer to her question of why he had decided on an arranged marriage. 

In some ways Twelve was better than the Capitol and in some ways, it was worse. The Capitol didn’t look at certain things with a prejudiced eye but Twelve obviously still had its hang ups. The little summary had floored her with its blunt simplicity. Meningitis aged sixteen which resulted in an emergency amputation of his left leg below the knee. Love wasn’t forthcoming, not in Twelve. Life got lonely. It had broken her heart to read between the lines. 

“Peeta,” she mumbled and reached out her hand to his. Her fingertips brushed gently over the skin on the back of his hand and she traced over his knuckles. He watched, his eyes intently following the path of her fingers. “It’s absolutely in sickness and in health.”

His eyebrows shot up to his hairline and he met her grey eyes with his blue. “Katniss...”

“I’m not entirely sure why mine was a match you wanted,” she continued, “but I do understand a little about it.” She swallowed and squeezed his fingers in her palm, feeling more hopeful than she had in a long time. “I understand all about the things we do for love.”


End file.
